Running late, man refuses to slow down for cops

When Scott K. Arnold was running late, not even the police slowed him down.

Arnold pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to stop for police last week after police apprehended him in a brief Georgian Bay-area pursuit on Sept. 12. Crown attorney Ted Carlton said police who were on radar patrol around noon that day spotted Arnold driving a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt at 150 km/h in a 100 km/h zone on Highway 400.

“At that point, the officer pulled out onto the highway… and began to first catch up and pursue this Cobalt vehicle,” he said.

With lights and sirens activated, Carlton said police continued to follow the 19-year-old as he exited at the Lake Joseph Road offramp. He said police then briefly lost sight of Arnold, but later saw his car driving northbound on Lake Joseph Road, passing other vehicles in an oncoming lane.

Police continued to follow him onto a snowmobile trail until Arnold ran out of road, at which point the chase came to an abrupt halt.

“There was some minor contact between the two vehicles,” Carlton said.

After he was apprehended, Carlton said he told police “he was running late” and that he needed to get gas and pick up a friend for class.

The court heard that Arnold has no prior criminal record, and Carlton noted it was “questionable” why he was even driving so fast. He asked the court to consider a $1,500 penalty as a deterrent to those who refuse to stop for police.

“The right reaction is not to panic and put others in jeopardy,” he said.

Found guilty by Judge JD Evans, Arnold received the $1,500 fine and a one-year driving ban.